This Hong Kong-Based Jeweler Is Making Waves In Europe

The first Chinese jewelry artist to have exhibited at prestigious fairs like TEFAF in Maastricht and New York and the Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris, Wallace Chan’s peapod-shaped A New Generation ring – in his own variety of porcelain that he has rendered five times stronger than steel – has been added to the British Museum’s permanent collection. With each piece crafted to offer a unique narrative or illustrate a philosophical thought, the spiritual materializes into dramatic jewels, from the Cosmic Destiny brooch exploring the oneness of all beings and the ever-changing qualities of the universe to the Mind Puzzle clip questioning the origin of reality.

Born in Fuzhou, China, in 1956, Chan had dropped out of school at the age of 13 to help support his family, before founding his own gemstone carving workshop in 1974, going from carving Buddhist sculptures to making jewelry. Having started out sculpting ivory, wood and stone, he turned to gems in his quest to inject light and color into his creations. Some works may take up to three or four years to complete, with Chan producing around 15 to 20 pieces annually – all one-off jewels – always aiming never to repeat himself as he surmounts impossibility.

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What was your path to success like? What was your big break that marked a turning point?

If there was ever a path to success, I wouldn’t recognize it because it would be ever so meandering, and full of twists and turns. When I invented the Wallace Cut in 1987, after two and a half years of trials and failures, I thought for a moment that it would be my so-called “big break”. However, reality is far from fairy tales. Hard work is a must. Patience is also a must. And it is most important not to calculate too much. I believe in focusing on the moment at hand and giving it my best. As long as I can continue to create, that is already my biggest success.

How would you describe yourself as a jeweler, your design language and approach, and your sources of inspiration.

It is not easy to describe myself because I change my mind all the time! Change is perhaps the only constant for me.

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Take me through your creative process from A to Z each time you take on a new jewelry project. How do you start and what do you start with? What comes first: the gemstone, the design or the innovation?

I am afraid that there is no A to Z because the creative process is never a linear process. It usually involves everything happening at once, and many projects happening at the same time. I have so many dreams, so many things that I want to bring to life, but there is never enough time. Therefore, I must always condense my being and steal time when I can. In addition to the idea, esthetics and meaning, the creation of a jewelry piece involves the innovation of materials and the invention of tools and techniques. For example, I was working on many creations at the same time during the seven years that I spent innovating porcelain, when The Wallace Chan Porcelain was born. This meant that I had to make the final touches to complete some of my other creations. If I waited until the porcelain was ready to work on the other creations, it would have been too slow and too late. Creativity takes time, but it also doesn’t wait.

You invented the Wallace Cut, the mastery of titanium in jewelry-making, a patented jadeite luminosity-enhancing technology, elaborate gemstone settings without metal claws and The Wallace Chan Porcelain. Why is innovation so important to you, whether it’s a new technique, tool or material?

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The idea is simple. The more materials you can master, the more creative freedom you have. I am just like a painter looking for more colors and a bigger canvas.

What does jewelry represent to you?

Just as architecture houses the physical body, jewelry houses the metaphysical.

How are each of your jewelry creations a reflection of your Chinese cultural heritage?

If my creations convey my experiences, it is only natural that they reflect my Chinese cultural heritage, which is a part of me.

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What has been the most challenging piece of jewelry you’ve ever created?

I am constantly looking for challenges, and that is also why I want each of my pieces to be unique and different because I find it meaningless to repeat myself. However, if we look back in time, The Wallace Cut was my first-ever innovation, and at that time, I had no resources to support the innovation. I gave it all I had, and from that, I learned that everything can be difficult, but nothing is impossible.

How did it feel to become the first Chinese jewelry artist to exhibit at prestigious fairs, like TEFAF and the Biennale des Antiquaires, and to have A New Generation added to the permanent collection of the British Museum?

I was humbled by those experiences. They serve as reminders to me to work harder, and to challenge and improve myself.

What are your plans for the future?

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I create for history. I create pieces that I hope one day can be discovered by intelligent life so far beyond where and what we are now.